


A Sunny Day

by ASereneDream



Category: Gravity Falls, Reverse Falls - Fandom
Genre: Apocalypse, BillDip, Deciphering Messages, Fade to Black, Flatland References, Implied Sexual Content, M/M, My First Fanfic, Post 'Never Mind All That' Act, Romance, Slow Burn, Violence, axolotl
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-05
Updated: 2020-12-07
Packaged: 2021-03-08 18:33:52
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 8,452
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27401275
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ASereneDream/pseuds/ASereneDream
Summary: Seven years have peacefully passed since Weirdmageddon, and now the Pine twins are back in Gravity Falls to spend their annual summer vacation with their grunkles and friends. But little did Dipper know that his secrets and actions will put him and all the people of Gravity Falls in danger.
Relationships: Bill Cipher/Dipper Pines
Comments: 20
Kudos: 34





	1. 4-16-19 22-9-25, 4-16-19 5-4-23-4-3-19, 23-10-20 4-16-19 18-12-9-1-19-6-5

It is turning out to be a sunny day in Gravity Falls. The sky is bright and blue, the clouds are white and fluffy, and the vibrant flowers are in full bloom. 

The Pine twins are seated inside the bus, waiting to get to Gravity Falls and spend their annual summer vacation with their grunkles and friends. 

Mabel, the bubbly twin, is jumping up and down her seat in excitement; enjoying the familiar scenery of Gravity Falls through the window. 

Dipper, on the other hand, is asleep, his trapper hat covering his face from any disturbance. 

Mabel gasped as she turned to face her brother, shaking him out of his peaceful nap and dropping his hat on the bus’ dirty floor in the process. 

“Dipper, wake up!” She practically shouted in the young man’s ear, drawing attention from the other few passengers to them. 

Dipper shot up, groaning, as he covered his right ear with his hand. 

“Mabel, don’t shout like that!” The young man scolded his sister. 

“Sorry bro-bro,” Mabel snickered. 

“But look, we’re here!” She announced excitedly; pointing her finger on the glass and smudging it in the process. 

Dipper quickly leaned down to grab his hat off the dirty floor, dusting it with his hand before placing it on top of his head. The young man soon brought his attention to the window, his grumpy scowl quickly turning into a big smile as he saw the familiar scenery of Gravity Falls.

Dipper felt excited, knowing that this year will be a fantastic summer full of mysteries, discoveries, and, of course, fun.

The bus has finally stopped, signaling the passengers that they have reached their destination, which made Mabel squeal, grab her luggage, and be the first to get off the bus; making her twin brother chuckle in amusement by how eager she is. 

Dipper then grabbed his baggage and wore his backpack, following his sister off the bus and seeing his two grunkles waiting for them. 

Mabel didn’t waste any time as she left her luggage on the ground and hurriedly sprinted over to her grunkles and jumped into their arms; giving them a death-gripping hug. 

Dipper grabbed his sister’s abandoned baggage and walked over to them quickly, setting the luggage beside him. 

“Here are the college kids!” Stan stated proudly, as he set Mable aside after their embrace. 

He pulled Dipper close and hugged him, giving him a tap on the back as he let go of the male twin.

“You’ve gotten even taller since the last time you came, my boy!” Ford teasingly said. 

“You’re making me feel old,” he smiled, taking off Dipper’s hat before teasingly ruffling his hair.

“Sorry, grunkle Ford,” Dipper chuckled as he fixed his hair; wore his hat back and hugged his great uncle Ford, giving him a firm pat on the back before letting go. 

Stan smiled at the twins, feeling happy that they’re back again. He leaned down as he tried to help with carrying the luggage but stopped when he didn’t see a familiar annoying pig around. 

“Hey Mabel, you didn’t bring the pig with you this time?” He asked, facing his niece.

Mabel’s chest puffed as she rested her hands on her hips; almost in a Superwoman type of pose. 

“Of course I didn’t,” she began, “Waddles must stay back home with my grandbabies and his wife,” she stated proudly, giving her grunkle a grin.

Stan rolled his eyes playfully as he let out a small laugh, relieved that he won’t have to worry about the pig causing any trouble for him or his brother.

Stan reached down again to pick up the luggage, puffing and grunting while doing so. 

Dipper noticed his grunkle’s struggle in an attempt to help with the baggage and soon stopped him.

“Grunkle Stan you don’t have to do that, Mabel and I can handle it,” Dipper gave him a reassuring smile.

“Thanks, kid, this old back just wasn’t what it used to be,” Stan nodded at the young man.

“Well, then,” Ford started, “we better be heading back to the Mystery Shack; Soos and Wendy are waiting for us,” Stanford said, getting ahead of his family. 

  
  


Once the Pines family arrived just outside the Mystery Shack, the twins and their grunkles were greeted by Soos and Wendy. 

“Welcome back, dudes!” Soos greeted the twins with a tight hug, slightly lifting them from the ground; but soon after he put them down with a breathless puff. 

“Woah, it was way easier lifting you two dudes up before,” the handyman said as he let go of the chuckling twins. Everybody laughed as Wendy came between the two siblings, moving her arms to their sides as she side-hugged them.

“Finally you guys are back, it’s really boring here without you,” Wendy beamed at the twins. 

“It’s great to be back,” Dipper smiled back at the redhead. 

“Look at you, all grown up,” Wendy punched Dipper’s arm playfully. 

“You’re taller than me now!” She teased the young man.

Dipper let out a nervous laugh as he stroked his arm to soothe the mild pain, trying not to show that he was experiencing any from the start; but failed as he heard everyone failing to control their laughter. 

“Alright alright, now move it inside, or else I’ll keep the Mystery Shack open for the day,” Stan jokingly said, getting inside the building. 

Closing the Shack has become a tradition for when the twins arrive on the first day of summer. However, other than that everything stayed the same in regards to appearance and business. 

The Mystery Shack did belong to the much older Pine twins, but when Stan and Ford are out exploring; the Mystery Shack is being watched over and taken care of by Soos and his wife, Melody.

  
  


Everyone soon got inside and made themselves comfortable in the living room.

“You kids go to your rooms and get yourselves ready, we’re leaving for the Greasy Diner soon,” said Stan. 

Mabel jumped up and down in excitement, quickly grabbing her luggage and dashing to her room; leaving her twin to chuckle at her enthusiasm.

Soon after, Dipper got a hold of his own bags and went upstairs to his own room. 

The twins stopped sharing the attic bedroom a few years back for privacy reasons; and now Dipper owns the attic bedroom, while Mabel owns the bedroom that was once the secret hidden room. 

When Dipper reached his room, he opened the door to find everything to be the exact same as he left it last summer. 

His bed is still located on the left corner, neatly made and tidy. 

On the right side of the room, where his sister’s bed used to be, is an empty wall-dresser that’s ready to be filled with what’s in the baggage. Next to that is a full-length wall mirror; and a big and wide modern bookshelf, which Soos happily built for the male twin a few years back. The bookshelf is filled with thick and heavy-looking books that the young man has collected over the years for experiments and research.

Dipper set his luggage and backpack on the bed and went over to the unusually shaped window in the bedroom. 

He leaned over the triangular window, looking at the scenery in front of him as he smiled to himself; excited for the new adventures, mysteries, and discoveries that await him. 

A knock on the door was heard; and soon after, Mabel’s voice; informing her twin brother that they’re leaving soon. “I’ll be down in a minute!” The male twin responded, approaching the mirror.

“We’ll be waiting in the car!” Mabel shouted through the closed door and ran down the stairs, her loud footsteps could be heard from where her brother is standing.

Dipper let out a small chuckle at his sister as he turned his attention towards the mirror that was in front of him, checking if he looked okay. 

Over the years, the twins have changed a lot in terms of appearance and clothing style. The female twin had her braces removed, and replaced her usual skirts with jean shorts, but still wears her famous silly sweaters, and her hair has grown longer as she aged; styling it in braids or leaving it down.

Whereas the male twin has gotten rid of his boy shorts and down vest, replacing them with a pair of pants and a red t-shirt over a navy blue hoodie that is zipped halfway up. 

He also has the sleeves rolled up to his elbows; showing off his tattoo of the emblem of his former enemy’s wheel on his left forearm. The young man is also wearing a single black earring on his right ear as a dare from his sister; however, he ended up liking it and kept wearing it. 

Dipper adjusted his trapper hat and turned around, doing one last check in the mirror before heading out of the Shack.

Dipper and Wendy still kept their habit of trading hats every summer, and since he’s back; Wendy will have to give him his pine tree cap again, and Dipper will have to give back her brown trapper hat.

  
  


Soon enough, the pines family and their friends got inside the car and headed to the Greasy Diner.

Once they arrived and made it inside, they got seated and ordered pizza. 

The Diner wasn’t packed, but it had a few familiar faces inside, chatting, and enjoying their meals. 

Lazy Susan came back to the Pines’ table with two large pizzas in hand. 

“Two large pizzas on the house for the two adorable twins,” She smiled, placing the pizza on the table.

Everyone cheered happily, digging into the breaded cheesy goodness.

Every year since the ‘Never Mind All That’ policy, the people of Gravity Falls have been very thankful for the Pines family, and especially the twins for saving their town; thus giving them special treatment on the day of the twin’s arrival every summer; which includes free pizza and other things as well.

As everyone talked, caught up with each other and ate; sheriff Blubs and deputy Durland came inside the Diner and headed towards the Pines family to greet them.

“Well well, lookie what we have here,” began deputy Durland with a wide smile. 

“Sheriff Blubs! Deputy Durland! it’s good to see you guys!” Mabel giggled. 

“It’s good to see you guys too, but try not to cause too much trouble for Edwin and me this time,” said sheriff Blubs, crossing his arms in amusement as his partner fiddled with his wedding ring. 

“No promises,” snickered Mabel, remembering the shenanigans that she and the others caused last summer on the couple’s wedding day. 

“So are you experiencing any abnormal problems that I should know about?” Dipper asked, changing the subject.

“Nothing that I don’t know about,” Sheriff Blubs answered; “You took care of everything in the last few years, so it’s safe to say that Gravity Falls is officially safe from all things weird,” he continued. 

“Well.. except for one weird thing,” deputy Durland added.

That caught Dipper’s attention, but not as much as Stanford as he became too quiet. 

“And that would be?” Dipper raised his eyebrow, leaning forward.

“We have a new teenage boy in town,” Durland said in disbelief. 

Mabel gasped as she got up her seat a little too quickly. “What new boy?!” She half-shouted, demanding an answer.

“The new weird lookin’ kid that got here today,” Blubs answered the boy-crazed twin. 

“Oh my gosh, is he cute?!” Mabel continued to be loud, annoying her sibling a little as everyone found the girl’s excitement amusing.

“We have to meet him and introduce ourselves!” She continued squealing.

“Maybe you should give him a few days to adjust here before you go scare him off, Mabel,” Dipper said as he rolled his eyes; which made his twin glare at him.

“Well, it was nice seeing you kids again, but we better get going now, enjoy your time here,” Officer Blubs nodded at the group.

The two partners soon got a fresh box full of donuts and waved goodbye at the Pines family as they left the Diner.

While everyone finished their pizza, they soon started getting ready to leave, but Lazy Susan stopped them and forced them to try out her new pie recipe.

“Oh dudes, free dessert! yes!” Soos exclaimed, fist-pumping the air.

Everyone laughed and began chanting for the free pie; but Ford got up the table and excused himself, saying that he had important work to do and that he’ll be going back to the Shack.

No one questioned him, and with that; he left as everyone else enjoyed each other’s company and the pie. 

  
  


After the Pines’ evening of chatting, catching up, and eating pizza and pie, they parted ways with Wendy and Soos before heading back to the Mystery Shack.

Once the Pines family got inside, they all scattered around the house for something to do. 

Stan is sitting comfortably on the couch, rewatching an episode of Duck-Tective; while Ford is still in his lab, working. Mabel is in her room, gossiping with her friends, Grenda and Candy on the phone; her voice loud and filled with laughter.

Dipper, however, is getting ready to head out to the woods; as it was sort of a tradition and a must-do for him ever since the end of Weirdmageddon seven years ago. 

The young man packed everything he needed in his backpack; and once he was done, he held his journal and approached the mirror, doing one last check-up. 

He adjusted his blue cap, which he got back from Wendy earlier at the Diner; and gave himself a little nod in approval before leaving his room and making his way towards the mysterious woods.

  
  


And so with his backpack on and his journal in hand, the young man started walking deeper into the woods as he took a deep breath; the scent of pine trees filling his nose with each inhale, while the breeze lightly caressed his skin as he enjoyed the sight of the various flowers in their full bloom. 

The young man walked further, almost reaching his destination; and with every step he took, he could see more and more of the small yellow dandelions that lead him to his secret place.

He kept walking until he had to crouch down to avoid hitting the thick branch that was blocking his path; the young man went under it and took a few more steps before he completely stopped.

He stood there as he took a deep, shaky breath.

What he saw before him could be described as a forest of yellow and green, and in the middle of it was what he was waiting to see, and what he always comes to visit every year since he was a teenager. 

Bill Cipher’s statue.

  
  


The young man came closer to the statue; putting down his backpack next to the oversized bed of dandelions and other yellow flowers.

He sat down in front of the dream demon’s statue, crossing his legs and resting his journal on his lap. 

Ever since the first three journals were destroyed by the demon seven years ago; Dipper has worked on writing a fourth journal that contains all of the information that the formal journals had. The young man also added his own research and encounters with the weird and the unknown over his summer visits. However, this time, the young man has added more information about Bill cipher, his obscure statue, and the mysterious yellow flowers that surround it.

Dipper scanned around the area, studying the flowers as he saw dandelions, yellow roses, and acacia flowers scattered all around Bill’s figure and the ground in big spots and beds; the yellow outgrowing the green leaves of the trees at this point. 

Dipper opened his journal to the section of Bill Cipher’s information and held a pen as he wrote the names of the flowers that were surrounding him and the statue; despite them being almost the same three flowers for the past three years in a row.

The young man switched his attention to the statue, looking into the demon’s eye.

The figure had all the yellow flowers around him, but after all these years, it still looked the same as Dipper found him seven years ago. However, there was one thing that was different from seven years ago.

None of the flowers that he could see now were ever there back when he first discovered the statue. Or at least, they weren’t the same three flowers he’s familiar with now.

There were only two kinds of flowers that sank this place seven years ago, and that was the aconite and the petunia flowers. 

But right now, none of these two flowers can be spotted; for they have completely disappeared after five years; growing less and less as the years went on, until the dandelions, yellow roses, and the acacia flowers are the only flowers that remain. 

  
  


The curious young man reached his hand to touch the statue.

“I wish you could tell me what it all means,” he sighed, turning around as he leaned his back on the demon’s statue. 

The young man sat there, enjoying the peace and quiet, while he admired the breathtaking view of his secret spot in the forest. 

Dipper brought his journal to his face a few minutes later; reading what had previously written.

The first time he came here, he studied the two flowers that were growing all over the stone figure; and as the young man kept studying them year after year, he had finally reached two conclusions.

One: that these two flowers can only be found near Bill’s location and nowhere else in Gravity Falls. 

And two: he learned that the two flowers have a chilling meaning.

The aconite meant strong hatred, misanthropy, and caution warning; while the petunia meant anger. 

Dipper gulped as he still remembers the day that he found Bill’s statue like it was yesterday.

It was seven years ago when Dipper was aimlessly walking into the forest and first spotted a path of aconite and petunia flowers that lead him deeper and deeper into the forest; and as he walked deeper, the flowers grew more and more in numbers; feeling as if the grim flowers were trapping him and stopping him from going any further. 

The then-teenage boy continued walking until the yellow flowers led Dipper to an intimidating place even deeper into the forest; until he found a big, thick branch that was blocking the entrance of what seemed like a flower-filled cave.

Dipper crouched down and walked through the thick tree branch; and as he made it inside, he saw the statue.

Shocked, Dipper wanted to get close to it and inspect the dead demon’s statue. However; the flowers surrounding him got him stuck in his place as the sharp thorns held his arms and legs tight; scraping his skin as his blood trickled down his body.

The then-teenage boy panicked as he tried to escape, however; his excessive movements only made the flowers’ vines and thorns tighten around his body.

Dipper flinched at the pain and stopped moving completely as he quickly realized that the flowers were alive and well-aware.

He forced himself to calm down, thus, making the vicious flowers loosen its grip on the boy ever so lightly; which led Dipper to carefully free himself from the grasp of the stinging thorns. However, as he was freeing himself, Dipper got his hand stuck and one of the flowers’ sharp thorns cut deeply into his wrist; before freeing himself and escaping.

The now-young man still has a visible scar on his left wrist; however, the scar is now covered by his tattoos, making it less noticeable.

  
  


Dipper flipped the pages of his journal and double-checked the information of the available flowers.

He knows that the dandelion means happiness and faithfulness; and the yellow rose means friendship, joy, and gladness; while the acacia flower meant concealed love. Nonetheless, the young man still can’t figure out what all this truly means; or whether the flowers’ symbolism has any significance to its existence.

Dipper let the journal fall into his lap, sighing in frustration; but soon after, his frustration turned into a brief and humorless laugh. 

The young man leaned on the statue, turning his head slightly to look at it.

“It’s funny how obsessed I am, over a demon like you,” Dipper sighed.

“I have no excuse for that,” he trailed off. 

“You tormented my family and me and almost ended this world,” the young man frowned, remembering his many encounters with the demon and Weirdmageddon.

“And yet I still come back to you, every year; over and over,” Dipper sighed heavily as he brought his attention to the yellow flower beds next to him.

“I’ve met and come across many creatures in Gravity Falls,” Dipper began. 

“I’ve studied and understood each and every one of them very clearly,” the young man continued as he sadly looked at Bill’s statue.

“All except for you,” he frowned.

Dipper looked up; He could hear the birds singing loudly while they peacefully flew around in the bright blue sky.

He felt at ease in this place, it’s calm and comfortable, and the view is beautiful as well.

“I think that you’re misunderstood, Bill,” the boy closed his eyes, his face still facing the sky.

“Maybe you’ve done everything because deep down you just want someone to pay attention to you and understand you,” the boy subconsciously lifted his hand and felt the scar on this wrist.

“Maybe you just went crazy because of all the long years that you’ve spent in the Mindscape and the Nightmare realm,” he continued.

“It’s enough to make anyone go crazy and do what you did,” Dipper trailed off.

“Or maybe you really are just a demon whose only purpose was to cause chaos and destruction,” he mumbled.

The young man opened his eyes and looked down at his shoes. 

“I don’t know if you can hear me, but..” Dipper drifted as he bit his lower lip.

“I just wish I had the chance to help you,” he whispered.

“I wish things could’ve turned out differently, and maybe you’d still be alive and maybe... Just maybe... We could’ve been friends,” Dipper said, his voice sad and low.

The young man knew all too well that it is wrong to think that way about the demon, yet he couldn’t help but feel some type of remorse deep down.

He couldn’t help but think that things should have ended differently with him; and he can’t seem to stop thinking of ways to help the deceased demon, even after seven years.

  
  


Dipper continued to look down at his shoes, enjoying the sound and beauty of nature. He closed the journal that was on his lap and then saw something move on the ground next to his legs.

He gazed at the spot intensely, trying to go figure out what it could possibly be. And right before his eyes, a tiny yellow flower grew.

The young man couldn’t believe what he’s witnessing. He got closer to it as the bud continued to grow until it fully blossomed.

Dipper leaned down on the ground and was about to examine the small yellow flower until the obnoxious sound of his phone went off; almost giving him a heart attack.

The young man clenched a fist to his heart as he took deep breaths to calm himself. 

He reached into his pocket to grab his phone and soon answered the call; his eyes still glued to the flower, scared that it might disappear if he looked away.

“Dipper where are you?!” Mabel shouted on the other end of the phone line, which made Dipper wince as he moved his phone away from his ear.

“I-uh... I’m in the woods,” the young man hesitantly answered.

“Well, you need to get back to the Shack, quick!” She quickly said.

And before Dipper could ask what was going on; she hung up, making her twin slightly worried as he wondered what was going on back at the Mystery Shack.

The young man still had his eyes glued to the flower. He hurriedly brought his phone towards it and took a few pictures of the tiny flower from every angle possible.

The young man needed to know why the flower suddenly appeared, how it proliferated, and why. 

Dipper quickly got up, dusted his pants, and turned to shove his journal in the backpack.

Once he was ready to leave, he turned to look at Bill’s statute one more time and took a picture of it before running back to his sister. 

  
  


When Dipper finally made it back to the Shack, he ran inside and started calling for his twin sister. 

Mabel soon popped out of her room and walked towards him while stuffing her face with gummy worms.

Once Dipper saw that his twin was all right, he stood in his place as he crossed his arms.

“What the heck, Mabel?!” The male twin began scolding his sister.

“Why did you hang up like that?!” He continued.

“You made me worried, I thought you were in danger!” The male twin yelled, expecting his sister to have a good explanation.

“Relax, bro-bro,” Mabel replied calmly.

“Grenda took my phone and—”

Grenda’s rough voice cut her off as she called back for her best friend, demanding her to come back; which made the young woman giggle and shove more gummy worms down her throat.

Dipper rolled his eyes as he got impatient.

“Whatever, can you just tell me what you called me here for,” the young man sighed.

“Grukle for wans to tal to you abo somethin.” The twin bumbled with a mouth full of gummy worms.

The young man couldn’t quite understand what she was saying; which made him raise his eyebrow, waiting for his sister to speak properly.

Mabel swallowed the gummy worms and cleared her throat.

“Grunkle Ford wants to talk to you, he’s in his lab,” she repeated more clearly before grabbing another handful of gummy worms and shoving it in her mouth again.

Dipper dropped his arms and wondered what his grunkle might want to discuss with him.

“Okay, thanks Mable,” the young man said as he quickly walked past his twin. 

“And stop eating like that, or you’ll choke,” he yelled as he got up the stairs to his room.

Dipper quickly got inside and hid his backpack and phone in the closet, not wanting to risk anyone finding out about what he was doing in the forest.

The young man then quickly cleaned himself up; not wanting his grunkle to seem suspicious of him.

After he was done, Dipper went down the stairs and made his way towards the underground lab; his mind racing and wondering about what Ford could possibly want to discuss with him.

The young man hoped that his grunkle wouldn’t mention anything about the bizarre yellow flowers; or worse, the statue that Dipper kept hidden from him. 

He knew for a fact that his great uncle would completely destroy Bill’s statue if he ever saw it.

The young man shook his head; for some reason, he didn’t like the idea of it, and he did not want to think about it. Dipper took a deep breath as he entered the code of the vending machine and made his way downstairs.

He could hear Ford walking around and mumbling to himself.

“Dipper, is that you?” His grunkle asked aloud.

Hesitantly, Dipper finally made it down to the lab; and what he saw before him shocked him completely. 

Yellow flowers could be seen all over as it basically drowned the lab.

Dipper felt as if he couldn’t move; his face became pale as cold sweat formed on his shaking hands.

He gulped as his grunkle came closer to him, looking into the young man’s widened eyes while he placed a hand on his shoulder. 

“We need to talk,” he said, firmly squeezing the young man’s shoulder.


	2. 4-16-19 8-15-10-19 4-6-19-19’-5 20-15-5-t-6-19-5-5

Dipper gulped as he felt stiff in his place; not knowing exactly what to do or how to react.

"Come here, Dipper," Ford said; letting go of the young man's shoulder and leading him further in the lab.

Ahead of them, there were three boxes filled with the yellow flowers that the young man is very well familiar with.

Dipper stood beside his grunkle, staring at the boxes that are in front of him in disbelief.

On the left side of the lab were three big boxes overflowing with yellow flowers.

The first box was filled with dandelions, the second was filled with yellow roses, and the third box had the acacia flowers; though, it wasn't as filled as the other two boxes.

"Wait here, I'll go get the other two," Ford said as he went into the opposite side of the lab and brought back two boxes.

He placed them on the table with the other three boxes, however; these boxes were smaller than the others, and inside them were pitch-black and shriveled up flowers.

Dipper immediately recognized the dead flowers that were in front of him. He hasn't seen the petunia and the aconite flowers in a very long time, and for them to appear lifeless and black in color was a shock for the young man.

He remembered them being as big as a fist; with razor-sharp thorns attached to it, and its color was a dark and unnerving yellow, unlike any of the cheerful yellow flowers that the young man is now familiar with.

Ford picked up each kind of flower and set it down on the table in front of him and his nephew.

"Dipper, have you seen these flowers before?" Ford asked the young man. 

Dipper stood still as he stared at the flowers, and after what felt like hours to him, he decided to tell his great-uncle half the truth.

"I- uh, I've seen them a couple of times in the woods," Dipper's voice was soft as he answered his grunkle.

"And have you seen any of them outside of the woods?" Ford asked the boy, looking at him.

"I don't think so?" Dipper answered.

"Have you noticed anything  **_strange_ ** about these flowers?"Ford continued asking.

"I- I don't think so," replied Dipper hesitantly.

"You see, Dipper," Ford began talking as he wore his protective yellow glove. 

"All these flowers only appear in a particular part of the woods and no one else in all of Gravity Falls," Ford explained.

He picked up both the aconite and the petunia flowers in each hand, showing the two dead flowers to the young man.

"These two peculiar flowers appeared seven years ago in the deep parts of the woods; they were the size of a small rodent and had sharp thorns on every side," Stanford continued.

"When I took some of them for experimenting, these two flowers survived for exactly six years; even after I've plucked them up," Ford continued explaining.

"They held immense energy and power in them, but as the years went on I've noticed that they have grown less and less in the woods, both in quantity and measurements," He said, looking deep into the young man's eyes; making him shift slightly.

Ford took notice of the young man's uneasy fidgeting, which caused Dipper to feel even more uncomfortable.

However, much to the young man's relief, he was only told to stay put, as Ford momentarily left to bring back a couple of chairs.

The young man sighed in relief and let out a small thank you to his grunkle before they both sat down.

"Of course," responded Ford with a small smile and a nod.

"I might get carried away and take a while explaining so we might as well be comfortable," Ford sheepishly smiled.

Dipper couldn't help but smile as well; he loves solving mysteries with his great uncle and overall being in his company. Although, this is the one mystery that the young man would like to keep to himself; and for that, he felt guilty.

"You were saying, great uncle Ford?" Dipper reminded his grunkle.

"Ah yes, where was I?" Ford asked himself before continuing about his research.

"With each passing year that the Eranthis and the Petunia grew less, so did their treacherous energy, and the samples that I had in my lab began to wither and die slowly," he explained as he grabbed the two lifeless flowers again.

"After five years have passed they have completely stopped growing and vanished from the woods; and the remaining ones that I have kept as samples turned black, vulnerable, and lifeless," Ford went on as he shifted his focus to the dead flowers and effortlessly crunched them in his hand; turning them into black powder.

Dipper exhaled slowly as he decided to play along with his great uncle.

"Was there any reason why the flowers stopped growing?" He asked, avoiding Stanford's eyes.

"None that I could come up with," Ford shook his head as he turned to face the other flowers in front of them.

"However," Ford began again as he held a dandelion and a rose.

"These two flowers began growing three years ago, they don't hold much energy or threat as the previous two did. However, they do seem to grow in large quantities," Ford said as he examined the two yellow flowers.

"What energy are you talking about, great uncle Ford?" Dipper asked.

Stanford put back the two flowers on the table and turned his attention to the young man. He took off his right glove as he presented the back of his hand, which had a deep scar on it.

"I got this wound back when I was first discovering and experimenting with the Eranthis and the Petunia," Ford began as he lightly stroked the back of his hand.

"One day I got extremely deep in the forest, and got stuck, which led one of the thorns on the flowers to  _ 'attack' _ me," he said, making air quotations. 

"Fortunately I was wearing my protective glove at that time, if I hadn't then the wound would've been more severe; so I only managed to escape with a mere crater," Ford answered the young man.

"The pain was unbearable, nonetheless, and the way that the flower's thorn grabbed on to me almost felt as if it was—"

"Alive," Dipper whispered, finishing Stanford's sentence as he slowly caressed the scar on his left arm.

"Precisely," Ford smiled in approval at the young man.

"Now moving on to the Acacia," Stanford continued as he wore back his right glove and set down the other flowers, then very carefully and held a pale acacia flower in his palms.

"This one, the Acacia, grew approximately two years ago. However, there were very few of them, and they were tiny compared to the Taraxacum and the Rosa 'Harison's Yellow'," Ford said as he began observing the flower in his palms.

"They're also extremely fragile to the touch and seem to have no source of energy in them," Ford explained.

"I have also taken notice that they only appear in somewhat larger amounts during the summer. However, this was the only discovery that I could reach to," Stanford frowned.

"I have failed to unravel as to why this specific flower is rare and fragile, or why it started to grow two years ago and not among the Taraxacum and the Rosa 'Harison's Yellow, or why the Eranthis and the Petunia vanished after five years, or why these yellow flowers exist in the first place!" Ford kicked up from his seat and slammed the acacia flower on the table.

Dipper was startled, to say the least, by his great uncle's sudden outburst, and so he slowly stood up from his own seat and carefully approached his great uncle as he tried to figure out a way to calm him down. 

"I apologize for my behavior Dipper, I'm alright," Ford assured the young man and turned to face him.

He inhaled deeply, closing his eyes to gather his thoughts before approaching closer to his nephew.

"Dipper, I decided to call you here because I need your help," said Ford.

Dipper silently panicked as he stiffened in his place.

"Y-you need my help?" He managed to spit out.

"Yes, I was a fool to not have asked you to join me on this before; I was unsure of where these experiments were taking me, but I realize now that I should have included the most intelligent, brave, and gifted young man I have ever met and partnered with. I truly apologize for keeping this a secret from you, Dipper" Ford smiled sweetly and apologetically at the young man.

And with that, the young man felt extremely guilty and filthy to be hiding the truth from his great uncle.

"It's okay, grunkle Ford, I'll be happy to uncover this mystery with you," Dipper managed to smile through his guilt.

Stanford put his arms around Dipper as he hugged and thanked him once more before letting go of him.

"Now then, we must put away the samples and safely store the boxes," Stanford spoke.

He turned back to the stand that had the boxes of flowers on them and started putting away the flowers with his great-nephew beside him.

"Can you help me out with the Acacia box, Dipper? I need it stored separately and carefully in my study," Ford instructed.

"No problem, great uncle Ford," Dipper replied.

However, the young man realized that the acacia flower his great uncle held earlier was damaged.

"Um, Great uncle Ford, I think this one is.. dead," Dipper notified him.

Stanford came to his side as he examined the damaged flower.

"You see Dipper," Ford sighed deeply as he turned to look at his nephew.

"This flower is extremely delicate, and so it must be very well handled. Touch it the wrong way and it'll begin to die," Ford informed him.

Dipper hesitantly nodded and looked back at the dying flower, its color turning into a darker shade of yellow.

"W-what should I do with it?" The young man asked.

"You can get rid of it, it's no longer useful to us," Ford replied as he went back and continued to put away flowers in their labeled boxes.

Dipper stared at the dying flower that's in front of him, he never dared to touch any of the yellow flowers in fear of what happened to him seven years ago, even though he knew that the dandelion, yellow rose, and acacia flowers were harmless; but seeing how his great uncle was not too worried about those three, his worries faded.

The young man bit his lip and slowly extended his arm to hold the dying flower. 

Once he got a hold of it, he felt a slight rush travel through the veins of his wrists and into his entire body. The flower soon began to glow a bright yellow, intensifying the rushed feeling in the young man's body as he formed goosebumps on his skin and gasped loudly.

Stanford quickly turned to the young man after noticing the bright yellow radiance and his nephew's gasp.

"Dipper, get away from that!" Stanford yelled as he rushed to his nephew's side.

Dipper let go of the flower which immediately made the brightness fade away as it landed on the floor.

"Dipper are you hurt?!" Ford asked the young man as he got a hold of him, checking his body for any sign of injuries.

"N-no? I-I don't think so," he answered unsurely as he looked at his wrists.

"Are you sure?! do you feel strange?!" Ford asked as he grabbed Dipper's hands and checked for any injuries once more.

"Yes I'm fine grunkle Ford, I should've been careful and worn my gloves first, I'm sorry," the young man apologized.

"No, it's my fault. I should have—"

"Grunkle Ford, I'm really okay, I'll be careful next time, I'm not a little kid anymore," the young man cut off his great uncle as he gave him a small smile.

"Okay, as long as you're safe. Please be careful dealing with these things, we don't know what they are yet," Ford sighed.

Dipper nodded and looked down at his hand as he moved it around; it looked okay and it functioned normally. 

He sighed in relief and put down his arms. However, he noticed the flower that he dropped on the ground, and his jaw dropped.

Ford soon followed his gaze, and he too couldn't believe what he was seeing.

The flower that was once on the brink of death is now fully bloomed.

Stanford kneeled down as he took the flower between his gloved fingers; he twisted it around as he intensely observed it.

"Fascinating.." Whispered Ford in disbelief.

"It seemed to have revived and gained back its original color, it's even a brighter shade of yellow than the other Acacias!" Stanford said in amazement.

"H-how did that happen?" Dipper hesitantly asked.

Ford stood up again, carefully setting the flower on the table.

"It seemed to have some sort of response to your touch, Dipper," Ford said, stroking his chin as he looked at the young man.

Dipper stood stiffly as Ford leaned to the flower, examining it some more.

"This is incredible," Stanford whispered.

"I should have had you working with me from the start, now we at least know that these flowers are definitely alive. Well done, Dipper," Ford smiled widely.

Dipper shook his head as he tried to snap out of it, he knew that it was dangerous to work with his great uncle on this; but he can't afford to turn down his offer and arouse his suspicion. 

"Great uncle Ford I... I don't thi—"

Ford quickly turned around and grabbed on the young man's shoulders before he could finish his sentence; startling him in the process.

"Dipper, I believe it would be best if only we knew about this; we can't risk having anyone getting hurt and messing with our progress," said Ford.

"Do you understand? It is the utmost importance to keep the existence of those flowers a secret from everyone," Stanford said as he looked into the young man's eyes.

Dipper couldn't find anything to say, so he just nodded and let out a soft 'okay.'

Content, Ford let go of the young man and thanked him before going back to their previous task.

After Dipper and Ford safely put away the boxes, Ford noticed that Dipper was looking tired and so he approached him one more and proudly smiled at his great-nephew.

"Thank you for helping me out, Dipper. I couldn't have done this without you," the much older Pine twin smiled.

Dipper could only nod and give his grunkle a weak smile, as the thought of lying to Ford drained him.

"It's getting late, so why don't you rest and call it a day. I'll stay here for a while and come up with some theories and hypotheses," Ford said, gently patting on the young man's back.

"Yeah.. I think... I should go to bed, all this excitement got me exhausted. We haven't had an adventure like this in a while," Dipper agreed with a small smile.

Ford returned the smile as he agreed with the young man.

"Goodnight," Ford smiled widely.

"Night.." Dipper responded.

"Oh, wait, there's one more thing," Ford suddenly remembered something, stopping the young man from leaving.

"I could use your help in getting me a book about the scientific study of plants— a botany book, from the library tomorrow morning, can you do that?" asked Ford.

Dipper widened his eyes in surprise, he would never have thought that his grunkle would ask him to do that.

"So what do you say, partner?" Ford extended his hand, waiting for his nephew to shake it and make things official.

Dipper slowly reached out his own hand and shook his grunkle's.

"I'll try my best to look for it," said Dipper with a faint voice.

"Excellent," beamed Ford.

And with that, the young man left his great uncle and made his way upstairs.

As soon as Dipper got outside the lab, he wanted to run to his room and collapse on the bed; but his sister stopped him from doing so. 

"Hey, dipping sauce! What have you been do—"

Before Mabel could finish her question, she noticed her twin brother looking extremely exhausted; which made her immediately run to his side.

"Woah, Dipper, are you alright? You don't look so good," Mable said, her eyebrows furrowed together at the sight of the male twin.

"I'm fine, Mabel, I'm just tired," The young man quickly responded, not wanting to deal with his sister at the moment.

"Well, okay. Do you need any help getting to your room?" She asked, her voice abnormally quiet and sweet.

"I'm alright," Dipper insisted, giving her a small reassuring smile.

"Okay, if you insist.. Goodnight bro-bro," Mable said, waving to her brother with a warm smile.

"Goodnight, Mabel," waved back Dipper.

After what felt like ages to the young man, he finally reached his room and quickly collapsed on his bed.

He couldn't believe what had happened; he wished more than anything for today to be just a dream, but much to his misfortune, his wish couldn't be granted.

The young man covered his face with his hand, he wanted to scream and somehow let his frustrations out. He knew that if his grunkle figured out the connection between the flowers and Bill's statue, he would destroy it.

Dipper doesn't really know why he doesn't want the demon's statue to be removed in any way, but he only feels that it is important not to let anything bad happen to it.

The young man removed his hands from his face and took a deep breath; and soon after he brought up his wrists on eye level.

The acacia flower that the young man touched let in an exhilarating feeling inside of his body. It started intensely from the veins on his wrists and then through his arms and body. Dipper has never felt that way before; and to him, it felt as if he was flying high in the skies, or as if his soul was being gently touched. 

He couldn't really pinpoint or describe what it was like, but he did know that he loved the feeling of it, for it made him form butterflies on his stomach and goosebumps on his skin.

But he now knew for sure that the flowers were indeed alive.

Nevertheless, the young man's guilt still weighed heavily on his shoulders. He does not know what to do to lead his grunkle away from the flowers, and potentially, Bill Cipher's statue.

In the previous summers, Dipper has tried his best to keep his grunkle Ford busy with discoveries; from troll hunting to capturing Bigfoot and the Hide Behind. He did all he could to steer Ford from finding out about the yellow flowers, but it seemed that he was unsuccessful.

The young man got up from his bed and went to grab his phone from the closet. He unlocked it and saw that the time read 11:45 PM.

He sighed heavily, it was a bit later than he expected, and the events of today have left him both emotionally and physically exhausted.

He plopped back in bed and laid on his back as he began scrolling through his phone to look for the picture of the flower. 

Once he found it, he zoomed in on the picture to identify the flower; and after a few minutes, he could recognize the flower to be a tulip.

The young man couldn't believe that he witnessed a new flower appear in front of him. He smiled widely as he truly felt happy and accomplished; however, it only lasted for a second before the feeling of guilt and shame came back.

Dipper felt awful to be deceiving and lying to his great uncle; and what's worse is that he knows that he cannot come clean to Ford, no matter how much he wanted to.

He also knew that he would try his best to keep his grunkle from finding Bill's statue; just until he uncovers the truth behind the connections.

Dipper's head felt as if it was about to explode as he tried to come up with a million ways to hide the truth from Stanford; and after a few deep breaths, he prioritized getting rid of the book that his great uncle wanted.

Dipper knew that his great uncle would only try to solve the mystery of the flowers scientifically, and so the young man wasn't too worried that Ford would come about it emotionally, and truth be told, neither did he in the beginning.

The young man got the idea of looking into the mystery of the flowers emotionally from his sister, Mabel; and it was only then that Dipper looked into the symbolism of flowers.

And ever since then, he conveniently found the perfect book to teach him about the plant's symbolism in the Gravity Falls library. However, even after he learned the flowers' symbolisms and meanings; the enigma of the yellow flowers still remains unclear to the young man; but he believes that if he could just figure out the meaning or existence of the dream demon's statue; then he could make the connections.

So until the young man uncovers the truth, he decided that it was safer for the book to remain in the library; for he knew that Ford would never find it there.

Dipper was confident about it not being found because Ford has told him before that the Gravity Fall's library only contained childish books and demented stories, and so it was very unlikely to catch Ford there.

So for Stanford to now ask the young man to fetch him a book from the library was a shock to him.

Dipper shifted uncomfortably in his bed until he was on his side. He then swiped on his phone and saw the picture of Cipher's statue; he stared at it for a few moments before shutting off his phone and rolling on his other side.

The young man sighed tiredly, and finally came settled with getting rid of the book in the library tomorrow.

He could hide the book someplace where his grunkle could never find it; and with that, the young man slowly drifted into a restless sleep as he thought of potential lies, coverups, and potential hiding spots for the Botany book.

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi hi~   
> Let me know what ya'll think~  
> is it as dumb as I think it is? lol
> 
> Happy Holidays~ :D


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